Is it worth DIY painting a flat?

ACG

redonion wrote: »

What does "decorating" mean on its own, then?

To me that means hanging wallpaper.

whalster

If I'm not too busy then I do them when the rental period ends it takes me three days for only one coat of walls and undercoat gloss woodwork.
If I have a flat or house that is too bad I look at it and think stuff this for a game of soldiers and get the painters in two of them do me a full flat with a couple of coats in a day and a half it's a lot better job than I can ever do however costs me 400 quid labour only .

moneyistooshorttomention

If I had an empty place and decorating was all I was concerned with, then I would have probably tackled it myself.

In the event, there is quite a bit of one-off type preparation that needs doing here and I and all my possessions are in residence, hence I'm employing decorators this time round.

Do be aware that, just because someone is supposed to be a professional painter and decorator, it doesn't mean to say they will do things "properly" necessarily. I've just employed a decorator to do one of my rooms and found that I must have employed the Thickest One on the Planet (I only wish I was joking.....:(, but I honestly think he must count as the dimmest person I have ever met to date). I'm not going to go into just what he has done.....but he has been told in no uncertain terms I never wish to clap eyes on him again.

G_M

Depends entirelyon
* the condition of the walls/existing paint (ie what preparation is needed and how many coats)
* what quality finish you are looking for

Last time a tenant moved out, myself/partner moved in Friday night, painted all w/e, and finished Sun night. Single coat: matt walls/ceiling and gloss wood + some minor repairs, lock changes, etc

Yorkie1

As a first time decorator, I thought I could do 3 rooms in a few days.

I hadn't bargained for the time it took to do the preparation properly and to put masking tape around fireplaces / edge of skirting etc.

I also did two coats of paint on each surface (the emulsioned ones).

I won't make that time estimate mistake again.

googler

bsms1147 wrote: »

Who really does all that though?

Anyone who wants to do the job properly.

[Deleted User]

I do fill walls before painting and sand them (and made good previous bodge attempts at this), but I have never sanded emulsion walls.

With some hard work, it is possible to do a decent attempt in 3 days, but could take five depending on other jobs or repairs that are needed.

Running_Horse

Do the prep yourself, then invite your friends round for a decorating party.

A few pizzas, followed after by a few bottles of wine should get the job done.

suelizab

I saw a large, old board yesterday advertising "painting and paper hanging". Now I bet that is a skill .

redonion

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Do be aware that, just because someone is supposed to be a professional painter and decorator, it doesn't mean to say they will do things "properly" necessarily. I've just employed a decorator to do one of my rooms and found that I must have employed the Thickest One on the Planet (I only wish I was joking.....:(, but I honestly think he must count as the dimmest person I have ever met to date). I'm not going to go into just what he has done.....but he has been told in no uncertain terms I never wish to clap eyes on him again.

Oh please do go into it, you gave me a needed laugh already